So You're a Paranormal Expert!

The dictionary tells us that an expert is 'a person who is very knowledgeable about or skilfull in a particular area.'

When you think about the word expert in that way there are certainly many experts in the paranormal field, yet some people really fear calling themselves experts or being labelled as an expert because of the stigma attached to that word.
Being called an expert seems to automatically put a target on your back which allows others to criticize those wishing to pass on or share their knowledge.
Is that how we see the field moving forward?
Is it right to be wasting time on the "I am more important than you are"argument?

But then - Should anyone and everyone putting out information on the internet be seen as an expert?
Certainly not! 

We can all learn from the information that is delivered by others, even if it is that we don't agree with it. 
But, in the end, a lot of information is just opinion. And not everyone's opinion is fit for human consumption. Some people's expertise is about slurring others and doesn't add anything positive to the field at all. Thank goodness they are few and far between.

I also see a lot of 'cut and paste' kings and queens, that, in their dire need to be seen as experts, grab from others and find a platform to put it out without doing the work required thus really not understanding what they are writing about.
That certainly doesn't make them an expert even if in the first instance they sound like one.

Television can create the illusion of experts where there are none. Producers may use an actor who has never been a paranormal investigator and dress him up to look like an expert (how do you dress someone to look like a paranormal expert by the way?) They can use flashy sound effects, be in a haunted house (how do you really know it's haunted) and some scary scenarios. 
Of course some sort of evidence has to be produced at the end of each episode otherwise you mustn't be an expert!

How would you know if this TV expert was indeed a real expert?
You wouldn't, unless you followed it up and checked out the person's history on line.
How many of you do that when getting information from a new source? 
Do you just take everything you see and hear at face value?
Maybe you shouldn't?

In Australia we have a real 'thing' about people being viewed as better than the rest.
We generally hate the word "expert"!
It harks back to our English and Colonial roots of division between the rich and poor in society  where to be seen talking to the other class of people was just not on. If you appeared better than someone else, especially in your own social class, you were scorned and vilified.

We keep this idea of kicking a smart person in the guts alive with our much loved 'tall poppy syndrome' and this certainly extends out in all areas, not just the paranormal field.

But, focusing on the paranormal, and considering that there is very little that can be seen as genuine certification or qualifications that can academically make you an expert in the field, who can use that term then?

It certainly should be someone who has done a Uni course or two in some general aspect of the field, gained loads of experience, field work, has continued long term study, has an ability to answer a variety of questions on different subjects, lacks rigidity in beliefs allowing for a flow of new evidence to be assimilated and also has a healthy does of skepticism. Have I missed anything?

That actually makes plenty of people I know experts and they should use that term, according to the dictionary definition, with pride.

Yet, many are scared to pop their head up above the water line in fear of being bullied, harassed and criticized to the point of exhaustion. Who wants to spend their time justifying their right to share some knowledge?  But, by being such arses to these people are we not just denying everyone else their wisdom? Why would you create an atmosphere like that? 
Maybe a bit of ego?
Maybe fear that someone might know more than you do?  

But then also experts are EVERYWHERE!! There are SO many experts wanting to sell you a bit of their information in a webinar or an ebook at the moment. Who do you listen to?

Unless you are in your 50's right now, who can say they have 30 years of study and research up their sleeves when you are positioning yourself up against every man or woman and his dog (literally now) who has a web page, blog, webinar, You Tube channel, Instagram site and all of them are trying to get the biggest piece of an increasingly smaller pie of social focus!!!
They are all after your attention!

So we have several problems here -
* Lack of time to truly establish yourself as someone with years of experience.By waiting you may miss out.
( so lets read a book or two and start a web page shall we? Do we really know what we are talking about?We will just learn as we go and hope for the best.)
* The enormous amount of competition 
( We have to be bigger, better, brighter, younger, blog more, You tube more etc than anyone else to grab a slice of the interest and the $$$) Who has time and money to invest in that? How do you stand out when competition is so fierce?
* TV needs to use the term 'expert' to make their shows more valid. 
(Throw more money at it - or be controversial.Create experts - Spread any sort of information as long as people watch even if it is mis-information. Don't worry about the consequences) 

Does any of this bode well for the paranormal field in general?

We do certificates from establishments calling themselves expert in certain areas (I'm doing one now) but does that make us an expert?
Hmmmm - when I can learn in an hour what should take 4 years of study and research and absorbing information, it certainly does not.

Does it make me a little more experienced and might open my eyes to more possibilities and new information that I can go more deeply into if I choose to?

Yes it certainly can. I have chosen to pay for this course. I know what I'm getting myself into and as long as you do too go for it, sign up and spend your money.

There are plenty of courses out there - but remember, if it sounds too good to be true or if it offers years of learning squeezed together into a format that will take you a weekend to learn you are only ever being shown the minimum amount of information about any subject.

I am always happy to learn from others and listen to what they have to say - experts don't frighten me nor should they you.

We are blessed to live in time when we can all become experts.
We should not be vilifying anyone brave enough to put themselves out there and share their knowledge with us. And if they are known as an expert - check them out - do they deserve that title?

Remember the dictionary says that it is SOMEONE EXPERIENCED AND SKILLFUL IN A PARTICULAR FIELD AND NOT A KNOW IT ALL INFALLIBLE HUMAN BEING!!!!

We always have a choice to switch off, click off, turn away in a respectful manner.
Because a person does not 'speak to you' doesn't not mean that their words may not be motivating someone else.

We should not be afraid that someone might know more than we do - we should be learning from them - and not being worried that they will be taking away our potential audience.

When the student is ready the master will appear -

Remember most of us started with that one TV show or that one tour or investigation that changed everything for us. We may have believed in things that we no longer believe in having accumulated more knowledge - but we learned from SOMEONE.

We should be supporting our experts or our 'experienced' teachers and treading most carefully before we give ourselves that title or accept it from someone else.

Remember there are people out there that will hit on your Facebook page, your blog, your You Tube and you may be their very first port of call. You may be the first voice that they hear.

You can sway them in the right direction or the wrong direction for all the wrong egocentric reasons.

So if you are an expert please be one with integrity and be big enough to support the other experts out there.

The field needs to you to be focused and 'real' now more than ever.